Seattle woman may lose her home over barking dog

A Seattle woman's dog might cause her to lose her home. Her neighbor sued her for $500,000, saying her dog intentionally caused him "profound emotional distress" .... by barking.

KOMO investigated this story - Denise Norton didn't think the lawsuit over her dog Cawper was even real, so she didn't show up for court, but her absence in court for what was a very real lawsuit meant she lost.

"The sheriff comes and puts the papers on the garage and the wall and everything saying they're going to put the house up for sale," Norton said.

"The family has poured much of its savings into hiring lawyers, perhaps a few years too late," said KOMO's Jon Humbert.

Even though losing your home over a dog sounds ridiculous, the basis of the story is fairly polarizing.

On Facebook, some commenters sympathize with Norton, but others argue dog owners need to control their pets and say Norton was irresponsible for not showing up to court. Norton admitted she should've done that.

The kind of scary thing here is that just about anyone can get sued for just about anything, so you've got to watch out.

A more reasonable response if Cawper the dog was barking a lot would've maybe been a ticket for Norton, which KIRO says is possible to get as a neighbor. She could've possibly been fined $109.

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